Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: A Visit to the Hastings Scottish Rite on June 16, 2018

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: A Visit to the Hastings Scottish Rite on June 16, 2018

During the summer of 1930, “The Nebraska State Journal” reported that the new $400,000 Hastings Masonic Center building was nearing completion (24 August 1930, page 39).

Postcard of the Masonic Center in Hasting’s Nebraska. We visited the Scottish Rite theater in the building on June 16, 2018.

We left our hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 6:30am yesterday and headed to Hastings. At 8:30am we were scheduled to meet Phil and some volunteers to look at the scenery. There were two volunteers to help with the scenery, John and Jim.

Lines at the Scottish Rite in Hastings, facing the stage from the stage right side.
Lines and old Frank Adam lighting board at the Scottish Rite in Hastings, Nebraska
The old light board for the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.

The layout of the stage was intriguing. The drop lines were handled at stage level and caged off in the stage right area. There were 70 line sets, but not necessarily placed in numerical order, suggesting that a few lines had moved over the decades. The shape of the stage was bizarre; not a rectangle, but the shape of the letter “D” with the curve upstage. The back of the stage was angled and much smaller than the proscenium opening, almost as if it were the corner of the building. However, this area was perfect for storing musical instruments, as not drops could be hung from above. The original Frank Adam lighting board was still present, just no longer in use. It was located up a small flight of stairs, stage right.

My records indicated that the drops were produced by Volland Studios during 1929 and installed in 1930. Interestingly, it appears as if not all the drops were constructed for this particular stage at the same time, or for this particular venue. Some were much too wide – folded back at the sides to fit on the pipes. The backdrops were originally constructed with jute webbing and tie lines on top and pipes pockets on the bottom.

I have come to realize that pipe pockets don’t last over time, even when they are part of the original installation. The sewing for pipe pockets introduces weakness into the original fabric; these weak areas, where the needle pierced the original fabric, fail over time. After several decades, it is like a perforated page and the pipes will fall to the stage. Depending on the type of fabric used to construct the pipe pocket, the actual fabric may fail also start to fail if the pipe rusts. In humid environments, the pipes not only rust, but also adheres to the fabric.

In Hastings, the fabric used for the pipe pockets was incredibly thin. It was almost like a lightweight dressmaking muslin, just black. All of the pipe pockets have started to fail and my Scottish Rite representatives realized that this was becoming a liability. We talked about a variety of options for the future – options that could be done immediately by the Masons for safety precautions. In one case we removed a pipe, and as we did, the fabric had to be pealed off of the pipe as rust had bonded the two together in areas.

Detail from the treasure scene at the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.

As far as the drop construction, there were several features characteristic of the late 1920s. Typical to Scottish Rite scenery dating from this era includes an abundance of spatter throughout the composition. Also, characteristic of the time, the sides of the drop were finished prior to the painting, with the original tack marks to secure the fabric placed 2 ½ to 3 inches apart. This meant that there was no scalloping along the edges.

Scene from the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.
Treasure scene from the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.
Egyptian scene from the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.
King Solomon’s apartments scene from the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.
Painted details from King Solomon’s apartments scene at the Scottish Rite stage in Hastings, Nebraska.

The painting is beautiful, but the new lighting system is not. A lot of money was spent for a system that does not work well for painted scenery, or is easily used by its members. The area lights are not even on the stage floor, and there are hot spots all over the scenery. Not for the first time, a Scottish Rite was talked into something that doesn’t work for a historic venue; this is always frustrating to encounter.

To be continued…

Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

2 thoughts on “Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: A Visit to the Hastings Scottish Rite on June 16, 2018”

  1. Hi I am surabhi theater Artist
    My theatre history 135 years roning
    And I am completed master in visvabharati Shantiniketan
    I am painted curtains in my theatre
    I like your curtains
    We have 50-60 years back curtains
    Thankyou

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